Take me back

We are Band cilantro

Based out of Brunswick Maine,

LEAD GUITAR, PIANO, VOCALS / EARL BIGELOW

Earl Bigelow, a seasoned musician, first picked up a guitar when he was eleven. At fifteen he was playing grange halls in the small towns of maine. After going to college in Boston and a short stint playing music in NYC, he returned to Richmond Maine to hit the country circuit where he met Carl Schlick. Together they formed the Hayward Smith Band which enjoyed much popularity in and around New England. In the 90’s Earl formed the Holliday Road Band based in Bath and was popular up and down the coast of Maine .Through out his career Earl has always maintained recording facilities and as the current owner and operator of “Watersong Music” in Bowdoinham he continues to teach and record.

RHYTHM GUITAR, PIANO, VOCALS / MARGOT FROST

Margot Frost is a singer/songwriter who has been performing since the late 70′s appearing primarily in Boston and surrounding areas. Having dropped out of the music scene for several years to pursue other interests, she moved to Maine in 2004 and reignited her career. As a songwriter and acoustic guitarist, Margot is writing, recording, performing in a variety of venues with many other local musicians. After five years together, she is still working and appearing with Band Cilantro. She is joined by long time friend, guitarist and singer songwriter Earl Bigelow, with whom she performs regularly as a duo as well as with the band. Their material includes original songs by Margot and Earl well as covers by such artists as Lake Street Dive, Bozz Scaggs, Madeleine Peyroux, Thrill Cat, Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton. Their wide range of music also includes timeless classics such as “Misty” and “The look of Love”.

BASS, VOCALS / ELNA JOSEPH

Bass player Elna Joseph joined the band Cilantro in September 2013. Her earlier musical experiences were classical, bluegrass and folk styles on guitar. She transitioned to bass guitar to play in the Maine Cajun Band, Jimmyjo & the Jumbol’ayuhs with husband Jim Joseph, an accordion and fiddle player. Since joining Cilantro, Elna has greatly enjoyed learning rock and contemporary music on bass as well as singing with these wonderful musicians, singers and songwriters in the band.

DRUMS, PERCUSSION / CARL SCHLICK

Inspired by a music teacher demonstrating instruments, Carl Schlick started drumming in 1963, receiving instruction from the highly respected Dick Demers of Auburn, Maine. “The Electrons was my first band,” Carl recalls. “We played dances and parties in the 60s and had great fun. Dick also hooked me up with a lot of fill-in gigs and weddings at the Lewiston Montagnard Club. It got pretty wild, but I loved it.”After a stint in the Army, Carl came home hungry to play drums again and was soon recruited by the country band Linda With Feelings where he met Earl Bigelow successfully playing the country circuit for several years, Earl and Carl left to form the Hayward Smith Band which played a lot of original music as well as shows and collaborations. “I was operating a graphics studio at the time,” says Carl, “so I provided the band with t-shirts, posters and promo material. It was a fantastic time of creative output for all of us.” Marriage and raising a family in the 80s meant taking a break from the music scene. Then in 1992, he was called in a different direction, playing only worship and praise music for the next 20 years. Earl and Carl’s friendship continued throughout this period and in 2012 they again joined up to make music.

SAXAPHONE, HARMONICA / RANDY DYER

Randy Dyer started playing saxophone in the fourth grade and continued to play through high school,but pursued other interests after high school. “I barely played for almost 20 years”, says Randy,“until my daughter started playing in the Merrymeeting Community Band.” Randy decided to joinhis daughter and reignite his musical interests. After a few years he joined the Pine Tree Coastal Winds community band in Freeport, and played with the Maine Jazz Band/New EnglandJazz Band for a couple of years. Since joining Cilantro in 2013, Randy has emerged as a silky and powerful soloist, sharing and playing against Earl’s definitive guitar. Randy lives in harpswell with his wife Becky. When not playing music or working at L.L.Bean, where he has worked in the Information Technology department for over 30 years, Randy and Becky will generally be found outside mountain biking, snowboarding, cross country skiing, sailing, and other physical activities, and spending time with their families.